Normal? Huh, What's Normal?
by CrazyGirlLovesAnimals
Summary: Life was normal for Tessa. Until she found out something that would change her life forever. Now, life is normal again. Well, as normal as you can get being a demigod, with the prospect of death looming right around the corner.
1. I Find Out I'm Actually Half God?

Tessa tugged the light blue hair brush through her wavy auburn locks one last time, before setting it down on the sturdy white dressing table in front of her. Not a strand was out of place now, and she smiled. Then, she opened the dresser drawer and dug through all the headbands and hair accessories that dwelled in there. After a while of searching, she triumphantly emerged with a pretty pale pink and white rose clip. Tessa slotted it into her hair carefully, showing off a little more of her pretty, but completely natural face.

She slipped some purple and white bracelets onto her slim wrist, arranging a pattern with them. They jangled as she carefully stowed all the accessories away neatly. Finally, to finish off her look, she added some lip gloss. The teenager checked her complexion in the mirror, smiling satisfactorily as she saw her appearance.

"Parfait," she muttered to herself, choosing to speak in French. She wasn't sure why, but ever since a young age, she had been able to speak the language of love. Tessa had asked her father numerous times if he had taught her, but she never got a proper answer in response. However, she shrugged it off. It was a good thing, after all. One less class for her to endure.

"Tessa! Breakfast is ready!"

She cast one last glance towards the dresser, before descending down the stairs to the kitchen, taking a seat at the pearly white breakfast bar. A bowl of cereal awaited her on the bench, and she sighed. If only it was the weekend. Then it would be waffles and French toast galore. She grabbed a silver spoon and greeted her father pleasantly.

"Morning Dad."

Zander Corail was pretty handsome, or so people told Tessa. He was the typical muscular blonde surfer guy with warm brown eyes that you found in most romance movies. But to Tessa, he was simply, Dad.

"Hey Tess," he smiled at her, sipping out of a cup of coffee and pouring a glass of orange juice for Tessa at the same time. "Off to school today. Good thing it's Thursday, huh? One step closer to Friday and the end of school and work."

Tessa returned the smile with a grin. "Sure, Dad." She dug into her breakfast with a look at the large, modern black and white clock that hung up high on the wall.

Soon, she had finished the cornflakes, and dumped the bowl into the empty silver sink with a flourish. "Have fun, Dad!" She told him cheerfully, before rushing off to brush her teeth.

As she scrubbed viciously at her teeth with her purple toothbrush, she thought things over. Very rarely was Tessa this giddy and happy.

"Must be a good day," she mused to herself with a shrug, washing her toothbrush under the tap before heading back out to join her father.

"We should go," Tessa told him, grabbing her brightly coloured bag from the hook next to the front door.

Her father nodded, and led the way out to the red car that sat on the driveway.

The drive to school was a short one, five minutes at most. "Bye Dad!" She called, before hopping out of the vehicle and smoothing down her clothes. She wore a pretty blue dress with black netting over it. The velvet netting was patterned with roses, and the dress stopped just above her knee-caps. Yellow flats accompanied this outfit. Immediately she was greeted by her best friend, Samantha.

Samantha was a shorter girl with dirty-blonde hair cut into a bob. She liked to dress up in bright clothes and sparkly accessories.

"Hey Sammy. Are Chris and Jasmine here yet?" Tessa slung her bag over her shoulder and began to walk leisurely towards the school entrance, Samantha tagging along.

"No, not yet," she replied almost mournfully. "Oh, but Jasmine's sick. She's not coming to school today. She has that virus thing that's been going around."

Tessa nodded sympathetically, biting her lip in thought. "Yeah, that flu's been getting to everyone, hasn't it? I'm surprised they haven't set up a quarantine yet, actually."

Samantha nodded in agreement. "Yeah," she said thoughtfully, with a glance down at her wristwatch. She gasped. "Sorry Tess, but I gotta go! Catch you later!"

In the blink of an eye the bubbly teenager was lost in the crowd, no doubt headed to some kind of council meeting with the board or something. Tessa rolled her eyes and adjusted her shoulder bag slightly.

Tessa strolled through the school hallways until she reached her locker. Spinning the combination into the lock, it swung open with a soft click, barely audible over the noise of others chatting in the hallway. She stowed her bag away just as the bell rang. With an alarmed expression, she hurried down the pristine hallways, her bright highlighter shoes squeaking against the freshly mopped floor.

Once at the right place, she tugged at the grey door that was the entrance to the English room. To her surprise, it was locked. She shook the knob slightly, rattling it in an effort to open the door. The frustrated teenager banged on the door several times, hoping for someone inside to hear her, but it was no good.

"Come on," she muttered, as if that would get her access to the classroom. With a sigh, she turned around to see a janitor mopping the floors, a bucket of soap water stationed beside him and a dirty yellow mop clasped in his hands. However, the only thing Tessa saw was the keys jangling from his grimy blue clothes. She hurried over to him, relief washing over her. "Hey, could you please unlock that door for me? I need to get into class, and I'm late enough as it is."

The janitor turned around, and to Tessa's surprise, he wasn't old and grey haired. In fact, he was kind of... handsome. Jet-black hair cut into a buzzcut and piercing amber eyes. She smiled shyly.

"Which door?" He grunted gruffly, looking down at her.

She pointed behind her with a carefully manicured nail. "That one. To the science room."

The janitor nodded, walking over to the door and pulling a set of keys from his pocket. However, instead of unlocking the door like he was supposed to, he whirled around, pointing his keys at her defensively, snarling.

Except they weren't keys anymore. It was a long, golden spear, and it was pointed directly at her. And it looked sharp. Very sharp. Tessa leapt backwards and pressed against the cream school walls.

She stared the spear down in fear. The deadly gold weapon was thrust closer to her, and she swallowed. "Maybe- maybe you should put that down," she suggested. Her voice was strangely confident and soothing as she looked up at the janitor in false hope. What she saw sent chills down her spine. The janitor was no more. In his place, a snarling wolf curled his lip at her. He was a jet-black wolf. Patches of his fur glimmered and shifted, revealing glimmering bronze... scales? His legs were made out of dark bronze, and looked sturdy and strong. They made him tower above the terrified teenager. His image shifted from a heart-throbbing boy to a ghoulish monster.

To Tessa's uttermost surprise - and yet more fear - the wolf monster thing replied back, his voice growly and scratchy.

"Don't try and use your words on me, daughter of Aphrodite." His voice was like a thousand nails scratching against a chalkboard, and they grated her ears. She gritted her teeth at the pain, though she could do little else as she cowered in fear, pinned up against the wall harshly. She didn't even have enough time to puzzle over what he had called her.

Before Tessa even had a chance to blink, the monster had her pinned against the wall, his spear pressed tightly against her throat, constricting her air supply. She choked and clawed at the spear, gagging. Her vision went fuzzy all too quickly and she slumped slightly, weak from loss of oxygen. The edges of her vision darkened, and she felt sure death was near.

Suddenly, the pressure was lifted off her throat, relief and air rushing into her system. Crumpling to the ground in a heap, she swallowed, taking large gulps of air. She had never been so glad of oxygen in her life. She nursed her head, a pounding headache throbbing in her head. Tess looked up, curious to see her saviour. Two teenagers circled the wolf thing, a boy and a girl. One clasped a bow, the string drawn and the arrow notched, ready to fire at a moments notice. The other held a long sword that glinted in the light of the hallway. Both of them had armour overtop their clothes.

She struggled to her feet, listening to their conversation in fear. Perhaps they were on the same side as that creature?

"Empousai," the girl snarled, circling the monster warily.

The wolf laughed hoarsely, his spear now directed at the newcomers. "No, no. They're cousins of mine. Very pretty, don't you think, son of Ares?" He spun and thrust his golden weapon at the boy. The girl let her arrow fly and it struck the wolf, causing him to let out an enraged howl that made Tessa want to drown herself.

The monster flickered between appearances rapidly, like a dying computer screen, or an old lightbulb. One minute he was a harmless school janitor, waving his mop wildly like a mad person, and the next he was a ferocious wolf, baring teeth and stabbing with expert precision. Tessa shivered in fear and huddled agaisnt the locker walls. However, she couldn't tear her eyes away from the battle.

Having had yet more arrows pierce his thick fur, the wolf spin around, a wicked grin on his face and a crazed look in his eye. "Daughter of Demeter!" He proclaimed, poking at the one of the fighters. She let out a shocked cry, but thick armour protected her stomach.

"Why are you here tussling with the experienced ones? Should you not be growing crops back at your lowly little farm?" He extended claws and leapt with surprising speed. However, he was stopped in his tracks by the boy, who leapt up in the air in an amazing flip and within the blink of an eye he had his sword at the wolf's chest, ready to slice at any moment in time.

Tessa blinked in shock as the wolf growled. "Kronos will not be pleased." He disappeared in a cloud of thick grey ash. It coated the two saviours, and some specks rained on Tessa.

All was silent, before the girl strode over, slinging the bow neatly on her shoulder. She extended a hand to Tessa, which she gratefully excepted, getting to her feet, eyes wide in surprise.

"Don't think I've met you before. I'm Kylie." Tessa studied the girl who introduced herself. She had short black hair trimmed into a bob, and crystal blue eyes that seemed to see everything. "That's Glade," she gestured to her accomplice with a warm smile. She had a thick accent.

"Nice to meet you," the boy strode over to Tessa, shoving his sword into the sheath that hung on his shoulder. Glade had neat brown hair that was swept to the side out of his face. He was quite strongly built, and stood slightly higher than Tessa. Bright blue-green eyes blinked at her inquisitively.

"Who- who are you?" Tessa questioned, her voice catching with fear. She pressed against the locker, the lock digging into her back harshly. Tessa saw Glade shoot Kylie an amused glance, which was quickly quenched by the girl's harsh glare in return.

"We just told you," Glade chuckled, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I'm Glade, son of Ares." He gestured to Kylie with a winning grin. "And Kylie there is the daughter of Demeter. But she's pretty handy with a bow, for a gardener," he said with a cheeky wink.

Kylie scowled. "Just 'cause I'm related to Demeter. She's not all plants and farming. My mother is a god, after all. Plus," she branded her bow with a flourish. "I took some lessons from the Hunters of Artemis. They stopped teaching me after I refused to join them, though."

Tessa shook her head in confusion. Thoughts were whirling around her head in a huge jumbled mess, if she could have, she would have stumbled backwards. "W-what? What was that.." she swallowed. "Thing?"

"Apparently, a cousin of the empousai. I've never seen it before. Have you, Glade?" The boy in plated armour shook his head.

"No, but that thing certainly didn't look good. He's in league with Kronos as well, and that's never a positive thing," he cast a glance towards Tessa as he spoke. "We should head back to camp. What cabin are you? And what's your name?"

"I'm T-Tessa. And what do you mean by... cabin?"

Kylie blinked her chilling blue eyes impatiently. "It's like you don't know anything. Your mother or father?"

"My Dad is Zander Corail. My Mum..." Tessa wasn't quite sure what to say at this point. Her mother had vanished when she was just a little girl, leaving her dad to take care of Tessa by himself. Tessa didn't even know her name, or what she looked like. The only thing she knew was that her mother must have had auburn or red hair, like hers, as her father and his family didn't have that hair colour. She played with a strand of her hair now, biting her lip. "She's... not really here for me anymore."

Kylie rolled her eyes. "Well of course. She would've been a God. They have more important things to do than look after their mortal children." Her tone was rather harsh, but sympathy showed slightly in her eyes. But Tessa didn't really notice this. She was majorly confused.

"God? Did you say God?"

Glade cut in this time, concern and surprise wrinkling his face. "You mean you seriously don't know?"

Tessa responded with a helpless look, and they exchanged glances. Kylie gripped her arm. "C'mon. We have to tell Chiron about this."

Tessa ripped her arm away from Kylie's grasp. "I'm not going off with a bunch of strangers," she exclaimed hotly. "What do you take me for, a fool?"

Kylie let out a snort of impatience and reached out again. "Just-"

But Glade cut her off. "Wait, Kyles." He looked Tessa in the eye, hand on his sword, as if a monster were going to leap out and attack him. "Look. You don't know your Mom, right?"

After a moments hesitation, Tessa nodded. She wanted to correct him and say 'mum' and not 'mom' but she figured that wasn't important right at this moment.

"Yeah, well. Do you know her name?"

"I... we.." Tessa tried to think of a way around the question. The truth was, she didn't know her own mothers name. She had asked her dad countless times, but he had always managed to subtly change the subject. "We didn't really talk about it," she finished lamely.

"Don't you want to know about your Mom?" He didn't let her say anything, continuing rapidly with his speech. "Come with us. You'll get to know all about your parent. And you'll be really powerful. It'll be fun, promise." He looked her in the eyes.

She opened her mouth to say no, but she faltered. How good would it be to learn about her mother? People didn't understand, having a parent missing from their life. Perhaps if she went with them, she'd even get a chance to meet her mother!

"Well, are you coming or not?" Kylie tapped her foot impatiently, hand gripped on her bow even though there was nothing dangerous around anymore. Though the words sounded crude and impatient, she wasn't unkind. Even though Tessa knew this was a stupid idea, wandering off with a couple of strangers, she nodded.

"Yeah. Okay, I'll come."

Glade and Kylie both exchanged a cheerful look, and Glade grinned. "C'mon! Let's go show you your ride! It's sweet, I promise!" He gripped her and Kylie by the arm and began racing up numerous flights of stairs until they reached the roof.

Tessa was panting from exhaustion, though Kylie and Glade didn't even break a sweat. Kylie pushed the door open and Tessa and Glade both followed her. "Where are we.." Tessa's words died on her lips as she saw the sight that awaited her on the school roof.

Two horses were standing side by side, chewing grass out of the school rooftop garden. One was a chestnut brown colour with a white chest, and the other was splotched grey and white. But that wasn't the shocking thing. The two animals both had large feathery white wings tucked into their bodies. Glade chuckled when he saw Tessa's expression, and she couldn't help but notice that Kylie supressed a smile as well. "Woah.."

"They're Pegasi. Pretty cool, right?" Glade smiled. Tessa watched curiously as Kylie walked up to the splotched horse, ruffling it on the head.

"Hey Stormflash, Hazelstreak. Mind going back to Camp and fetching Nightwing for me? She's gentle enough, it'll be good for our beginner over there." The horses nuzzled Kylie before it whinnied, and the two flew off, their large wings flapping and causing Tessa's auburn hair to whip herself in the face. She brushed the strands out of her hair.

* * *

Before long, Tessa was high in the sky, clinging onto a jet-black horse with wings for dear life. Strangely enough, she wasn't scared as she thought she'd be, thousands of metres in the air.

"Down there!" Kylie shouted above the whistling wind, pointing down with a finger. Both Glade and Kylie looked completely at home on their Pegasi, something Tessa wished she could look like. Instead, here she was, clinging to her pegasus' mane for support.

She peered down at the ground that was steadily becoming closer. Fields of what she recognised to be strawberries dotted the ground, and there was a forest in the area as well. The sky changed drastically from cloudy and grey to sunny, the perfect day for being outside. A ring of about twenty buildings sat in the centre, as well as many other large buildings and structures off to the side.

Nightwing landed on the ground with a slight jolt, and Tessa slid off, apologising to the Pegasus profusely. She turned around to see a large white archway with the words _Camp Half-Blood _embedded into it.

Kylie smiled. "Welcome to your new home," she said kindly. Tessa decided that she liked Kylie. Glade led the way in, and Tessa looked around in wonder as she followed. People in bright orange shirts hurried around the place. A group of people were using bows, flinging arrows towards white and red targets. Some were scaling a rock wall.

_Seems fun, _Tessa thought as she watched them climb expertly. She wanted to try it out for herself. That is, until she saw the lava that started to pour down the wall. Her eyes widened, and she began to question this _camp. _She hurried after her two guides, not wanting to get lost.

A large marble pavilion was in her sight next. Lots of expensive looking white marble tables dwelled in there. She was so enthralled in the wonders of this new place, she didn't notice when a centaur trotted up to them.

"Hey! Girl!" Tessa was snapped out of trance quickly though, and her pupils grew wide as she saw the half-man half-horse that stood in front of her. He asked Tessa her name politely.

"I'm- I'm Tessa," she stuttered, swallowing nervously. This person seemed to be the boss of this place, and if she couldn't get through to him, she wouldn't be accepted. And she wanted really badly to be accepted, after seeing this wondrous place.

"Well, hello Tessa. I'm Chiron. You are a demigod, correct? You must be some kind of magical being to cross the borders, at any rate."

"A... demigod? I'm sorry, I don't know what that is." She must've looked utterly confused, because Chiron, Kylie and Glade all exchanged glances. She felt slightly irritated by this. They all seemed to share some kind of secret that they won't telling her.

"It seems we have a lot to talk about," the centaur spoke. "Come with me to the Big House. I will explain everything there, and I will leave you to decide whether you want to stay or not." Tessa's heart soared. She would be given an option? "Then, if you agree, we'll give you a tour around the campsite," he smiled warmly, turning around and trotting off.

_Good luck, _Tessa saw Kylie mouth to her, and she smiled in response.

_Thanks, _she responded, before scurrying after Chiron before she lost him. Her mind raced as she followed him, full of scrambled thoughts and bizarre ideas. Just one question stuck out like a sore thumb though.

What exactly had she gotten herself into?


	2. A New Camper Is Claimed Before Me

**Chapter Two **

Tessa followed Chiron, speeding up her pace so she could keep up with him. With four legs, the centaur went much faster than Tessa could.

Chiron slowed down in front of a baby-blue house, and Tessa was able to slow her pace and get a good look at her surroundings.

The house was old-fashioned and painted a pale blue colour, with white trimming on the edge. Apparently the original colour had been red, because as Tessa got closer she could see where the newest layer of paint had chipped off to reveal a faded red paint.

It looked uncared for and ancient, and it seemed to have two stories, maybe three if an attic was included.

"This is the Big House," Chiron told her, clopping up onto the deck. "It's used for many things. The infirmary is here, as well as my office. There's a Rec room too, which we use to hold meetings, and we have a basement to store all the ambrosia and nectar. Oh, and strawberry preserves, of course," he winked, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "The attic is where the Oracle lives."

Tessa opened her mouth to ask what the Oracle was, but he seemed to almost read her mind. "You'll learn about that later. If you join."

Now Tessa wanted more than anything to join. She was always curious about things. Nosy, her dad called her. Chiron led her inside the creaky old house into an office. He took a seat behind a cluttered wooden desk, and gestured for her to take a seat as well. She sat down in the seat uncomfortably. She couldn't help but wonder how he sat down with his horse legs.

"Let me explain everything to you. Normally we have an orientation video for this, but it got destroyed by some _certain _Hermes children," Chiron smiled, shaking his head. The next hour flew by in a blur, and Tessa's brain was whirling with all the information she had been given. Apparently, she was part of a race called 'demigods' which were children who were half mortal and half god. Greek god, that is. They lived in Olympus and watched over their children. Since they didn't know who Tessa's mother was, she would be put in the Hermes cabin until she was 'claimed' by her mother. Demigods and gods alike were in a war against this evil dude called Kronos. He had been defeated before by a person called Percy Jackson and seven others, but he had risen again, and no one knew why. Tessa had noticed Chiron's eyes had grown dark as he talked about Percy Jackson and this other Annabelle girl, or something.

Demigods were in constant danger, except for when they were in camp, as this dragon guarded a fleece which in turn kept a tree alive, which in another turn kept the camp shielded. Apparently it was called Thalia's Tree. Every so often, groups of three members from Camp Half-Blood went out on quests to help with the war. To make things worse, Camp Jupiter - which was the same as Camp Half-Blood, except with Roman Gods instead of Greek - had vanished off the face of the Earth. A prophecy had been received the other day, about a new comer who would save the gods. Tessa had been scared for a moment that it was her, but she had been assured it was a he, and not a she.

"You are welcome to stay, as we are in dire need of more campers. But you must understand, this is no small matter. You will most likely be injured, and a possibility is death," Chiron addressed openly once he had finished explaining. "What is your choice?"

Tessa took a deep breath, but she really didn't need any time to think on the matter. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Chiron smiled and placed an orange Camp t-shirt onto the counter, along with a slip of paper. "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood."

* * *

Tessa looked up at the building in front of her. It was the Hermes cabin, the place she would be staying until she was claimed. She clutched her orange shirt tightly to her chest and shoved the paper she had been given into her pocket.

She stepped inside the worn brown building, immediately faced with a bunch of bustling children. They all seemed to be doing something or other, and the cabin was packed. A couple of kids were giggling and picking at a bronze lock. They cheered triumphantly when it clicked open and exchanged high-fives and whoops. She stared in bewilderment, wondering what to do.

Fortunately she was quickly saved by a tall girl with long black hair tied up into a bun. She had a sharp nose and an almost mischievous smile, but she looked friendly enough. "Oh hello! You're that new camper, right? Jessica, is it?"

"Tessa, actually," she corrected her. "Tessa Corail."

"Oh," the girl didn't look the slightest bit deterred by that. "Sorry. I'm Mia Willows, head counselor of the Hermes cabin. You'll be staying here 'till you know your godly parent. I've had them set up a bed for you over there. Hopefully you won't find any worms in there. I double checked!" She had a cheeky grin on her face, and Tessa got the feeling Hermes was rather a jokester cabin.

"Thanks." She laid out her Camp Half-Blood t-shirt on the plain bed.

"There are clothes in the closet, if you want. Or if you don't like any of them you can go and ask the Aphrodite kids for some."

Tessa thanked Mia again, but she only shrugged and raised her voice. "Alright everybody, let's get out for some free-time!" Immediately cheers and whoops filled the cabin and kids filed out quickly. Mia picked up a jacket before turning to Tessa with a wink. "I'll leave you to get settled. Oh, and you might want to take a look at this too."

She handed Tessa a piece of paper. She unfolded it and was surprised to recognize it as the slip Chiron had given her. Sure enough, when Tess checked her pockets, there was nothing there. "How did you..?"

But Mia was already gone, only the sound of tinkling laughter left behind in the empty building.

* * *

The paper turned out to be a schedule for things that needed to be done each day of the week. According to the clock, it was 5:55.

Tessa checked the schedule. Dinner was 6:00. She figured that it wouldn't hurt to get there early. Tessa got lost several times, but she eventually made her way to the dining pavilion. Even after having that tour with Chiron, she was still having difficulty getting around.

As she took a seat at the Hermes table along with all the Hermes children and other unclaimed kids. Two of them were kissing passionately in front of everyone at the table. Tessa tried not to puke as she took selected some food to eat. If they were both from the Hermes cabin, didn't that make the half siblings?

She couldn't help but wonder who her mother was. That monster had said called her daughter of something, but she couldn't for the life of her remember what it was. She cursed her bad memory and almost kicked the table in anger. Tessa calmed herself down quickly, regaining her posture before striding to the fire pit to sweep her offerings to the Gods. She wasn't really hungry anymore.

Tessa scraped the pasta from her bowl into the fire, and it burnt quickly, the smells mixing in with all the other sacrifices. _Hey Mum. If you could claim me anytime soon, that'd be good. All my love, Tessa. _

"Praying to the Gods?" Tessa whirled around to see Kylie smiling kindly at her.

"My Mum, actually," she confessed with a sigh. "Asked her to speed up the claiming process a bit." Kylie chuckled, and Tessa set her empty plate down on the wooden bench. "I really want to find out who my mother is."

"It sucks, doesn't it?" Kylie questioned. She had a cup of water in her hands, and she knelt down and tenderly watered a small poppy that sprouted on the ground. "Let's see. It must be a female goddess, so that crosses off a lot. You could be Demeter, like me. Maybe Athena? Or you could be either Aphrodite, Hecate, Persephone - though that's unlikely, but you never know - Iris, Eris, Tyche, Nemesis, Nike, Hebe and about a million more. I'm not sure if some of those Goddesses even have mortal children."

Tessa nodded. Her mind was whirling. Kylie seemed to have a complete different personality from before. While in the past she had been cold and impatient, she now seemed warm and friendly. Tessa smiled inwardly. Kylie could be a good friend in the future. As she thought this, she felt a pang. She had left behind all her friends and.. her dad!

"I have to call him!" She gasped. She had completely forgotten. He would be panicked by now for sure.

Kylie looked to her curiously, eyes twinkling in amusement. "What, your boyfriend?"

"No, my Dad!"

Kylie's eyes darkened slightly. "You can't call him. Phone signals are like a gigantic firework. They let practically all monsters know exactly where you are. Sorry, but we can't risk it. They'd most likely kill you in an instant."

"But... What about the shield? They stop monsters from getting into camp, right? If I call from here, they won't be able to get me, or anyone else."

"The shield has been known to break before. It's stable at the moment, but at any given time it could flicker out. It's not worth the risk."

Tessa sighed. "Oh. That's fine then." But it wasn't really. How on Earth was she going to tell her father about all this? He was going to be so worried. Perhaps even call the police!

"Maybe I can convince Chiron to let you out on an outing, just to go visit your father," Kylie said sympathetically. "But you'll have to wait at least a week. A new rule from Dionysus. All new campers must be resident one week before going out on quests and such."

"Thank you," Tessa said gratefully, throwing her arms around the other camper in a warm hug. "My Dad would go nuts. He's probably going nuts right at this moment, actually."

Kylie smiled. "It's okay. It was the same with my Dad too. He misses me a lot. But all the farm work keeps him busy," she said rather wistfully. Then Kylie shook her head, her black bangs flipping out of her face. "C'mon. Let's head to the next camp activity." Seeing Tessa's dismayed face she laughed. "Don't worry. It's the last lesson, and then we have the campfire. You don't have to come, but it would be fun if you did. Sleeping's for wusses."

Tessa grinned. "I guess I can afford to stay awake for a little longer."

"Great! Hurry up! Glade will be waiting for us." Kylie tugged Tessa away, laughing all the way.

* * *

Tessa woke to someone shaking her awake. "Wake up! It's time for breakfast!"

Tessa blinked to see Mia grinning down at her, looking far too excited for early in the morning. She heaved herself up and leaned back, hugging the blankets closer to her, even though it wasn't all that cold. "What time is it?" She yawned, rubbing her eyes. She was sure she looked a mess, her hair frizzled every which way, but she didn't really care at the present time.

"Almost eight o'clock. And it's time for breakfast, and then we've got to clean up for cabin inspection."

Tessa sighed. "Okay then. There are some spare clothes in the cupboard, right?" At a nod from Mia, who told her to keep any clothes she found, she crossed over to the wooden wardrobe and opened it. She searched through the clothes, pulling out a pair of white jeans that seemed to be about the right size. To her surprise they fit perfectly. She tugged on the orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, before putting on a weathered blue jacket and slipping on her yellow flats from the day before.

She wanted to brush her hair, but instead she just put it up in a low side tail. Hopefully it would mask the untidiness of her hair. By the time she was finished, the other kids were already filing out the door to breakfast.

Tessa followed in a hurry. She kept to herself. She hadn't really made any friends in the Hermes cabin, and she didn't quite feel comfortable going up to Kylie, or Glade, for that matter. She took a seat at the marble Hermes table and started on a piece of toast, feeling rather alone. She missed Jasmine, and Sammy, and Chris.

"Hey. Are you that camper that came yesterday?" Tessa looked up to see a small girl blinking at the teenager with inquisitive blue eyes. She looked to have eczema but she still looked quite pretty. She had unruly brown curls that were tied up in a taut plait.

"Uh.. yeah," Tessa nodded, not quite sure how to respond.

"I'm Pippa!" She introduced quickly, smiling eagerly, she fiddled with the table. "I'm the daughter of Apollo. I was claimed last night, but I still kinda feel like the Hermes table fits me better, you know?"

"Oh, uh, hey," Tessa greeted. This person seemed nice enough, even if a bit strange. "I'm Tessa. I don't know what cabin I am yet though. Um.. Are you allowed here?" She questioned.

"Hope you're with us Apollo kids," Pippa smiled brightly. "Though I don't think so. You don't seem like one to me. Oh, and I'm not really allowed here, but I'm sure Chiron will let me here just this once. I mean, I was only claimed last morning. By the way, have you heard about that kid who stumbled into camp yesterday and was claimed the second he walked in?"

Tessa tilted her head. "Really? No, I haven't. When did he arrive?"

"Around about midnight. He stumbled in, covered in bloody gashes and stuff. Looked almost dead, in my opinion. Apparently he's the kid of that famous prophecy or something."

Tessa shook her head and took a drink of water. "I bet it's just a rumor or something."

Pippa shook her head eagerly, her curls falling in front of her face. "No, it isn't! Saw it myself! There was _such _a big fuss, you know? Here, I'll show you at free-time if you want. Then you'll _have _to believe me, won't you? I'll meet you at five by the fire pit." Eyes twinkling, she skipped away to her cabin mates, not giving Tess the chance to even reply.

* * *

It was four in the afternoon, and Tessa was still wondering about what that strange girl Pippa had said to her.

It was so strange, that another new camper had arrived at camp so soon after Tessa's arrival. How could he be claimed so fast either? Tessa felt jealousy prickle at her inwardly. She was still waiting to be claimed after a day, and this new kid had only been at camp for a second and been claimed. And then there was this whole prophecy thing. Which she didn't get, by the way.

She shook her head and tried to pay attention to the rules of the new game. "Okay guys, so we're going to be playing the Gauntlet today! For all those who are new to this game, here are the rules."

So the Gauntlet was this game used to test throwing and aim, speed and dodging, and just plain luck as well. The group was split into two teams, and they took turns throwing and running.

The throwers would line up facing opposite each other, with a gap in the middle for people to run through. There were three balls held by random throwers. The running team has to run through the gap to the other side while people are chucking balls at them. If they get hit, they're 'dead', and they sit down. If the person makes it though, there are cones, or batons waiting at the other end. Only three people are allowed down that end at a time. They each take a baton, or cone, and then they have to make it back down the line to the other side. If they succeed, that's a point for the team. If not, they got half a point. Team with most points wins.

Tessa was in the junior class. She was shocked to know seniors played with bows and arrows instead of simple bouncy balls. She shivered at the thought of that and went to join her team members. It seemed they were running first.

As the other group got ready, Tessa's team discussed strategies.

"We could send out decoys," a boy of about fourteen piped up. "They could cover our best players and sacrifice themselves for the others? Like bodyguards."

Evan, the team captain nodded. "Good idea. We'll do that. Who's going to be the first decoy, the most difficult one?"

"I will," a tiny red-headed girl put her hand up in volunteer.

"Cool, Claire will be the distraction, and then..." Evan stopped for a moment to think. "Ace and Deva, you can run out while there's been distractions..., oh and Jagger, you can run with Claire. You're a good dodger, aren't you? I'll send out others once this team gets to the other side."

Tessa listened carefully to these instructions. She knew she would be a decoy. After all, she was only a beginner. It was to be expected.

She watched as the small red-headed girl and her companion Jagger ran out onto the field. Balls immediately flew towards them. Jagger was hit instantly, taking a shot for Claire, but that allowed for the nimble girl to leap and dodge gracefully to the other side. Team members murmured approvingly. Tessa heard some people say that she would probably be put in the senior section soon. While all the players on the opposite team were fetching balls Deva and Ace sprinted out onto the field. They made it to the other side with almost no difficulty.

Evan leaped into action again and ordered two more people to be distractions. They were shot down pretty quickly, but Deva was hit in all the action as well. Now four people were out in a team of ten. Only six players were left, and only Ace and Claire returned with a full point each.

"Okay, this isn't working out so well," Evan admitted, before coming up with a new strategy. "Okay, different approach. We'll send the whole team out at the same time."

"But only three people can be at the end at the same time," a pretty blonde girl protested.

"Yeah, I know Hayley. That's why we have to move quickly. The first three at the end have to grab a point quickly and return it immediately, before running back into the field. While they're doing that, the next three run and grab a cone. Then we'll keep rotating until we're all out, okay?"

At a count of three, Tessa ran out with the others into the field. Tessa gasped as a ball hurtled towards her. She quickly jumped to the side, narrowly missing the ball. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hayley, Mitch and Claire darting towards the end. She saw a person from the rival team aiming for one of them and she yelled. "Claire, watch out!"

The lithe girl immediately dived to the ground, escaping before running to the other side. Tessa tripped over Jagger, who was sitting on the ground since he was out. A ball flew towards her and hit her in the head. Tessa winced in pain, but the opposing team captain waved for her to continue, yelling that head-shots didn't count.

Sighing in relief, she noticed that Claire, Mitch and Hayley were running back, batons clasped in their hands. That meant it was time for the other three to dive in and grab a point. Ace sprinted towards the end, and Tessa followed suit, twisting to the side clumsily. This caused her to lose her balance and fall to the ground. Before she could get to her feet a ball pelted her in the side. She was out.

The rest of the afternoon continued similarly, with Tessa being hit lots of times. She was sure she was going to be covered in bruises and sore all over. The other team was exceptionally good, and they won most games.

"Good job guys," Evan nodded, sweat slicking down his hair. "Go take a shower or something, then it's free time."

Tessa remembered her meeting with Pippa and sighed in regret. She was far too tired to do that now. But she was kind of curious.

Tessa had a quick shower and changed into a new set of clothes, letting her hair flow down her back, before heading out to the fire pit. She wasn't surprised to see Pippa was already there, bouncing up and down eagerly with excitement.

"Finally! You took forever! C'mon! Let's go to the Big House. That's where all the excitement is."

Tessa chuckled, shaking her head. She seemed to be just like Sammy.

Pippa tilted her head in confusion. "What? Did I do something?"

"No. You just remind me of someone, that's all," Tessa laughed. Pippa shrugged and ran off, gesturing for Tessa to follow.

She jogged after Pippa to the Big House for the second time, footsteps thumping heavily on the wooden deck.

"Hush," Pippa held a finger to her lips, signalling to stay quiet. She crept quietly with the skill of a Hermes child. Tessa guessed she must have picked up some skills during her stay. The excitable teenager peered into the dusty window, and waved Tessa over with a grin. "There he is," she whispered.

Tessa wiped some grime off the window carefully and looked through. A scrawny looking boy sat on a bed, talking seriously to Chiron. Tessa strained, but she couldn't hear the conversation that was going on inside. The boy had scruffy brown hair that looked like it hadn't been brushed in weeks. He had lots of cuts and grazes all over his body, and he seemed to be of average height, though he looked skinny and starving.

"What's his name?" Tessa questioned, her voice low. Pippa shrugged in response.

"Don't even know what cabin he is," she said in a hushed voice. Tessa turned back to the window and continued to watch. Chiron appeared to say something that got the boy angry, animatedly yelling and gesturing. Chiron seemed to remain calm though, and he soon got the situation under control.

Tessa adjusted slightly, and saw the boy catch her eye. He stared at her unwavering, his blue orbs unblinking. Tessa quickly ducked, though he didn't appear to tell Chiron about her and Pippa. "We should go, Pippa."

The curly-haired girl looked slightly disappointed, but she nodded. "Okay. C'mon, let's go. I'll show you a proper tour of the area, okay?"

Tessa nodded and followed obediently, but she wasn't really paying attention. She wondered if that boy was really part of the prophecy. He seemed kind of... creepy, mean as the thought was. She shivered and halted.

"Hurry up Tessa! No time to lose! We only have half an hour before dinner!"

Tessa shook her head and unfroze. "Coming," she laughed. "Besides, half an hour is more than enough time, isn't it?"

"Not when you live at Camp Half-Blood, it isn't!"


End file.
